A few weekends ago, my family and I went to Park Tavern for dinner after the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition at Fort Mason.  Having never truly mastered the taste and dump technique necessary to get through a wine tasting of this magnitude {there were over 200 wine makers offering tastings}, we were all three sheets come dinnertime.  But even through the wine induced haze, I had the good sense to order the wild mushroom gnocchi.  It was swoon-worthy – a variety of sauteed wild mushrooms were perched on top of perfectly billowy potato gnocchi and finished with truffle oil.  I think all of my relatives agreed because by the time my plate was passed around the table to be tasted by all {as per usual in our family}, there wasn’t much left.

I was so excited to try to recreate this dish at home.  I picked up some yellow trumpets, maitakes and white beech mushrooms from Far West Fungi.  I sauteed them simply with some butter, shallots, garlic and parsley.  To push this dish totally over the top, as soon as the gnocchi came out of the boiling water, I immediately tossed them in warm brown butter.  After spooning the sauteed mushrooms on top, I annointed the entire dish with black truffle oil.  Oh man, this dish kind of blew my mind – the combination of gnocchi and truffle was absolute perfection.

Don’t be intimidated by homemade potato gnocchi – it’s really not as complex as you might think.  I do think the key to making the whole process less frustrating is to invest in a potato ricer {kind of looks like a huge garlic press} which “rices” the potatoes into a fine, shredded consistency that makes for incredibly light gnocchi.  Another tip - go light on the flour.

Recipes continued after the jump…

Recipes

Wild Mushroom Brown Butter Gnocchi with Truffle Oil

• Homemade potato gnocchi {see recipe below}, or store-bought if you want to save time
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 pound of wild mushrooms {try to use at least 3 different varieties}
• Truffle oil

Prepare gnocchi according to directions below or according to package directions if using store-bought.

In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add olive oil and 4 tablespoons butter.  Add shallots and garlic and saute until shallots are translucent and soft, about 10 minutes.  Add mushrooms and parsley.  Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.  Saute until mushrooms are soft and tender, about 10 minutes.

In separate small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until the butter solids begin to brown and the mixture smells nutty.  As soon as desired color and scent are achieved, immediately pour brown butter into the serving bowl.  Add cooked and drained gnocchi and toss to coat.  Spoon mushroom mixture over gnocchi and toss.  To serve, drizzle with truffle oil {don’t go too crazy as it should be somewhat subtle - I used about 1 teaspoon for the entire serving bowl}.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi

Adapted slightly from 101 cookbooks

• 2 pounds Russet potatoes {about 2 large Russet potatoes}
• 1/4 c. egg, lightly beaten {for me, this was 1 egg}
• 1 c. all purpose flour
• fleur de sel or other fine grain sea salt

Fill a large pot with cold water.  Salt the water, then cut potatoes in half and place them in the pot.  Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender throughout, this takes roughly 30-40 minutes.

Remove the potatoes from the water one at a time with a slotted spoon.  Place each potato piece on a large cutting board and peel it using a paring knife before moving on to the next potato.  Also, peel each potato as soon as possible after removing from the water {without burning yourself}.  Be mindful that you want to work relatively quickly so you can mash the potatoes when they are hot.  To do this you can either push the potatoes through a ricer {which I did} or deconstruct them one at a time on the cutting board using the tines of a fork – run the fork down the sides of the peeled potato creating a nice, fluffy potato base to work with.  Don’t over-mash – you are simply after an even consistency with no noticable lumps.

Let the potatoes cool spread out across the cutting board for about 5-10 minutes, or long enough so that the potatoes have cooled enough that the egg won’t cook when it is incorporated into the potatoes.  When you are ready, pull the potatoes into a soft mound using a large pastry scraper.  Drizzle with the beaten egg and sprinkle 3/4 cup of the flour across the top.  Using the pastry scraper, incorporate the flour and eggs into the potatoes until the egg is incorporated throughout and you can see the hint of yellow from the yolk.  Scrape underneath and fold, scrape and fold until the mixture is a light crumble.  Very gently, with a feathery touch knead the dough.  This is also the point you can add more flour {a sprinkle at a time} if the dough is too sticky.  I found that I didn’t need to add any additional flour, but this may have been because I used 2 large Russet potatoes that were closer to 1.5 pounds total.  The dough should be moist but not sticky.  It should feel almost billowy.  Cut dough into 8 pieces. Gently roll each 1/8th of dough into a snake-shaped log, roughly the thickness of your thumb.  Use a knife to cut pieces every 3/4-inch. Dust with a bit more flour.

To shape the gnocchi hold a fork in one hand and place a gnocchi pillow against the tines of the fork, cut ends out. With confidence and an assertive {but light} touch, use your thumb and press in and down the length of the fork.  The gnocchi should curl into a slight “C” shape, their backs will capture the impression of the tines as tiny ridges {good for catching sauce later}.  Set each gnocchi aside, dust with a bit more flour if needed, until you are ready to boil them.

Bring a fresh pot of water to a boil. Cook the gnocchi in batches by dropping them into the boiling water roughly twenty at a time.  Once they all have risen to the top, cook for another 2-4 minutes, or until gnocchi are tender when tested.  Fish them out of the water a few at a time with a slotted spoon or spider into the serving bowl containing the brown butter {see recipe above}.  Continue cooking in batches until all the gnocchi are done.